Runproof fabric and method of making same



RUNPROOF FABRIC AND LEI'OD @F MAKING SAME Firled May '7, 1932 4 She'ets-Sheet l @I ILE l4 n 65 75 INVENTOR.

BY ,m4

v A TT ORNEYS.

Sept. 22, 1936.

RUNPRooF FABRIC AND METHODOF MAKING SAME v Filed May '7, 1952 4 sheets-sheet 2 ELE-J5; 51E- Q; n

Kaw.-

- WIW/www.

ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 22, 1936. @,GASTRICH 2,055,457

RUNPROOF FABRIC AND METHOD OFMAKING SAME Filed. May 7, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 c. lEr. 5

m U1 'N m' gil A TTORNE YS.

A' FLE- l5 Patented Sept. 22,l 1936 RUNPROOF' FABRIC AND METHOD OFr MAKING SAME Gustav' Gastrich, Wyomissing, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Berkshire Knitting Mills, Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May '7, 193,2, serial No. 699,837

19 Claims.

This invention relates to knitted fabrics and particularly to methods of making run-proof fabrics and to mechanism for automatically making such fabrics on full fashioned knitting maf chines.

Although it has heretofore been proposed to make run-proof fabrics by interlocking certain loops of a course with adjacent loops, alternating the interlocking in succeeding courses, it has not been possible to effect such interlocking of loops in'a fully automatic operation of a full-fashioned' knitting machine.

An object of this invention isA to interlock, in any one of a variety of ways, certain loops of a course with adjacent loops and to effect the interlocking in succeeding courses in such manner that if the thread breaks the unravelling thereof cannot take place beyond the next succeeding v site direction to the spreading of interlocked loop.

-Another object of this invention is to provide Vdles and transfer points so that the spread loops become interengaged or interlocked with the loops on said needles.

In making certain forms of fabric according to this invention, I spread the loops which it is desired to interlock over two adjacent needles while in other forms of runproof fabric I spread the loops over a single adjacent needle. The

interlocked loops may be each loop, alternated loops, or only loops at certain intervals, in a course, skipping" the intervening lnon-locked loops. Loops may also be interlocked in every course or only in certain spaced courses between which are courses of plain loops.

In succeeding interlocking courses the system of'interlocking is varied so that interlocked loops occur in every wale of the fabric. The spreading of loops for interlocking in lsucceeding interlocking courses may be in the same or in the oppoloops in previous courses.

In the drawings;

(ci.- ca -19s) Figure 1 is an enlarged View of a piece of fabric having determinedly spaced loops in each course interlocked with adjacent loops in accordance with the invention, the spreading and interlocking of loops proceeding progressively in successive courses;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a piece of fabric having alternate loops in each course spread over two adjacent loops and interlocked, alternate loops being interlocked in successive courses.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a piece of fabric having alternate loops in each `course spread over a single adjacent loop and interlocking, alternate loops being interlocked and the loops being spread in opposite directions in suc- `cessive courses.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of a porf tion of a full fashioned knitting machine embodying mechanism for effecting the spreading andinterlocking of loops in accordance with the invention.

Figures 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d are diagrammatic views illustrating a series of primary steps for effecting loop interlocking in accordance withV V the invention.

Figures 6e, Bf, 6g, and 6h are perspective views of conventional knitting machine elements and illustrate a series of secondary steps for interlocking loops according to one manner of practicing the invention;

Figures 7e, 7i, '7g' and 7h illustrate another series of secondary steps for interlocking loops in another manner; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged View of a piece of fabric showing another type of loop formation.

The words primary and secondary used. immediately above have no meaning other than that the series of steps illustrated in Figures 6e to h and Figs. 7e to h, respectively, each follow the series of steps illustrated in Figures 5a to d for effecting loop interlocking in two different ways. There are no figures designated 7a to ci nor 6a. to d, the designations given being chosen to facilitate following the sequence of voperations as described herein.

In the drawings the letters A, B, C, D are em ployed to designate successive courses and the characters 4A, 5A, 6A; 4B, 5B, 6B and 6C, 5C and GC designate adjacent loops4 in the correV spending courses while the numerals fi, E, 6 etc. when employed alone designate the needles cor responding to the loops. Inasmuch as the manner of interlocking the various loops ol a course ls identical the following description will, for simplicity, deal in detail only with the spreading and interlocking of a single loop in a course.

The mechanism for making the novel run-proof fabrics is shown in Figure 4, in which the numeral I0 designates the usual'needle bar provided with a pluralityk of needles 4, 5, 6 etc. and ,operable for vertical movements by a cam I2 on cam shaft I3 through levers I4 and I5 the latter of which has a roller I6 engageable with cam I2 when shaft vI3 is shifted axially in lwell known manner for narrowing or lace work.

The horizontal movements of the needles are controlled by a cam I'I acting through presser levers I8 on the needle bar.

The usual front narrowing shaft .20 is vertically movable about rear narrowing shaft 2| to dip the usual narrowing points into needle cooperation and also carries a transfer point rod 22 provided with transfer points 23. Cam shaft I3 has a cam 24 operative on arm 25 and rod 26, when the shaft is shifted axially, for dipping the narrowing shaft 20 and transfer rod 22, ordinarily' two dips for each cam shaft rotation.

The shifting of the transfer points 23 for spreading loops as-.hereinafter described may be readily effected by any known loop transfer device, the drawings indicating a cam 21 on the cam shaft I3 acting through lever 28, rod 30 and toggle levers 3I, 32 on a transfer point shifting device 33 under the control of a pattern chain 34 as more fully described in the copending application of Emil Richter and Paul Schmidt, Ser. No. 561,536 filed Sept. 8, 1931. l

However, in adapting the mechanism described in said copending application to produce the various interlocked-loop fabrics described hereinafter, the contours of the cams I2 and 24 are designed and the cams are relatively arranged on cam shaft I3 to cause the sequence oftransfer point and needle movements illustrated diagrammatically in the figures bearing the major designationsv 5 to 1.

As may be seen from the following description cams I2 and 24 are cooperatively arranged on shaft I3 to assure that the needles 4 etc. remain overlapped with the alined points 23 during the rise of the latter after engaging loops on certain needles in order that the loops may also be retained on the related needles. This assures 'thatin the lateral movement of the points to Referring now to Figure 2, Figs. 5av to a andl Figs. 6e to h, after thread has been laid, loops have been formed `by the sinkers and dividers, and stitches have been drawn through the .previous courseA (Fig. 2) by the needles as usual, the transfer points descend into registry with alternate needles of the course (Fig. 5a). The needles are then moved against the points and the beards of these alternate needles are thus closed (Fig. 5b) The needles and points then descend below the knock-over bits in unison so that alternate loops become engaged around the points as well as the needles (Fig. 5c). Then instead of the points rising and merely taking the loops oif the needles for transfer to other needles, as in ordinary narrowing or lace work operations, the points and needles both rise with the latter moving upwardly more rapidly than the points so that the beards of the needles pass through and are positioned above the loops. The loops are thus retained on the needles as well as the transfer points and the needles move away from the points, (Fig. 5d) to permit lateral shifting of the latter. v

While the` points and needles remain thus overlapped the points are shifted two needle spaces to the right, or left, so that the loops, as 2B, 4B, engaged by the points are spread or carried across the intermediate needles to positions in front of the second needles from the ones with which the points initially registered, Fig. 6e'. After this shifting of the points, the needles and points .descend below the knockover bits and the portion a. of the spread loop 4B is engaged by the beard of the intermediate needle 5 while the portion b is retained by the beard of the needle 4 around which the loop was originally formed, Fig. 6j. Although the beard of needle 6 is also open it does not engage the loop portion a which is held away therefrom by the transfer point 23. As this action takes place the portion b of the spread loop forms twisted or rolled bights c and d as a result of rolling over the tip of the intermediate needle 5 as the needles descend below the knockover bits, see Fig. 6g. The needles then move against the alined pointsA closing their beards and are then raised, the beard of the needle 6 passing through the twisted loop bight d on the engaged point (Fig. 6h) so that the spread loop becomes engaged around the needle 6 as well as the needle 4 on which the loop was formed and the intermediate needle 5 over which the loop portion b rolled. The needles are then raised further to position for the laying of the carrier thread for the next course and the points are also raised to inactive position.

When the next course is knit the loops 4C, 5C, and 6C are drawn through various parts of the spread loop 4B, the loop 4C being drawn in normal manner through the spread loop, the loop 5C being drawn through the Vintermediate loop 5B between the twisted bight c formed by portions a and b of the spread loop 4B and the loop 6C being drawn through the loop 6B in normal manner and also through the twisted bight d of the spread loop 4B, the twisted bights thus providing locks for the loops.

The interlocked loop fabric shown in Fig. 8 may be produced by following the steps illustrated in Figs. 5a to 5d and then varying the cooperative relation of the needles and-points as shown in Figures 7e to 7h. Fig. 7e shows the spreading of the loops over two adjacent needles. Thereafter, during the descent of the needles with their .beards open they are moved slightly closer to the a points, without closing the beards however, to

of spread loop 4B rolls over the intermediate needle 5 and second needle 6 forming a twisted bight c over these needles, the portion a being held by both needles 5 and 6 (Fig. 7g).

As the needles-rise, needles 5 and 6 retain the bight c so that a single twisted bight around.

needles 5 and 6 remains in the spread loop 4B (Fig. 7h). On formation of the next course C "the loops 4C, 5C and 6C engage portions of the spread loop, the loop 4C being drawn in normal manner through the spread `loop 4B, andloops 5C and 6C being drawn respectively through loops 5B and- 6B as usual and also through the twisted bight c formed by the portions .a and b of spreadv more plain courses between the spread 'and ln'l terlocked courses. Y. Alternate loops in a succeeding course, such as C (Fig. 2), are s pread and interlocked as described above for the course B, except that the loops 5D, 1D etc. which correspond to the intermediate or skipped loopsy 5B, 'IB in the previous course (B) are now spread, thus insuring that spread and interlocked loops occur in` each Wale. `To provide for thus spreading these loops, the transfer points may be shifted Vidly one needle space at the termination of spreading for the previous course (B) ory before the' spreading shift inv the following course C, or D if a. plain course intervenes.

The spreading of loops 5C, 1C in the succeeding course may be either in the same or opposite direction to the spreading of loops 4B, 6B in course B as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, respectively.

` The modified form of fabric shown in Figure 3 may be produced by spreading alternate loops a single needle, instead of two needles as in Figure 7e, and following the steps of Figs. 'lf to- 7h so that the portions a ofthe spread loops are engaged by the adjacent needle, as 5. It will be noted that here also the spread loops interlock-with adjacent loops, the spread loops in Fig. 3 having twisted bights c. interlocking with adjacent loops.

If desired, a fabric in which each loop in each course is interlocked with the adjacent loops, may be made by providing a transfer point for each needle and shifting the loops a single needle space so that the spread loops are engaged around two adjacent needles to interlock each loop with that adjacent. In this case also thespreadingof loops may be alternated in direction in successive courses so as to provide interlocks in all wales.

By spreading and interlocking only certain loops at predetermined intervals and skipping the intervening loops in certain courses, rather than spreading and interlocking all or alternate loops in a course, many interlocking variations` may be effected with resulting production of quite different appearing fabrics although each fabric may embody spread and interlocked loops of the same type? For example, Figure l illustrates a preferred Variation in whichevery 5th loop is spread and interlocked with skipping of the intervening 4 loops and the loops are spread in the sainel direction and interlocked progressively in a number of successive interlocking courses and then corresponding loops at equal intervals in a number of following interlocking` courses are spread in the opposite direction with the spreading and interlocking of loops progressing reversely. That is, in course C of Fig. 1 the 4th, 9th etc. loops are spread to the left and interlocked, in course D the 3rd, 8th, 13th etc. loops are spread to the left and interlocked and so on until course I in which the 3rd, 8th etc. loops are vspread to the right, and interlocked and the spreading is to the right for reversely progressive loops, until loops 8, i3, etc. are again reached whereupon 'the described sequence is repeated. In this form of fabric although each course has only a few interlocking loops the progressive spreading and interlocking in successive courses assures that interlocking loops occur at short intervals in each lWale so that a broken thread may unravel through only a limited numberof courses before it is caught by an interlocked loop and stopped.

The particular interlocking loops employed in Fig. 1 are produced by following the steps illustrated in Figs. 5a to d and 6e to h but spreading the loops 4, 9 etc., 3, 8 etc. or 3, 8 etc., 4, 9 etc.) over only a single adjacent needle. It will be 'seenthat inasmuch as-there is no intermediate needle to grasp the loop portion a and since the loop is held by the point 23 away from the needle in' front of which the loop is spread, there is no twisted bight c formed as in Fig. 3. However, interlocking is effected by the engagement of an unrolled laterally displaced bight e in each spread loop with the adjacent needle as the latter engages the point 23 and passes up through the spread loop as in Fig. 6g.

It is also to be understood thatany of the interlocking loop types shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 8 could be alsoused when followingthe interlock- -ing system illustrated in Fig. 1.

.Referring again to the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4; it will be seen that the contour of the cam 24 controlling the transfer points is diierent for forming the interlocked loops of Figs. '7e to h from that employed when forming the interlocked loops of Figs.,6e to h inasmuch as in the latter case the needles and points twice descend together below the'knockoi/ er bits (Figs. 5c and 6g) while in the former case the needles make the second descent unaccompanied by the points (Fig. 7g). The contour of the usual cam. il for controlling the horizontal ,movement of the needles through the presser levers I8 is alsoslightly different in the two cases, primarily -in providing for the movement of the needles toward the points for permitting the needles (as 6) to which loops are spread to engage the loop portion a with their beards. (Fig. 7l.)

For brevity in the specification and claims, the term "run-proof fabric is used in a generic sense and includes a fabric having one or more interlocking or barrier courses and in which a run will not take place, or in which a run is limited, dependent upon the specific arrangement of barrie`r courses and locking loops employed; and the termfspread as applied to loops refers to a loop that extends from the needle creating the loop to another needle in the row of needles in counter distinction to a transferred type of loop which is transferred bodily from the needle creating the loop and positioned bodily .upon an adjacent needle.

Although certain types of non-run'fabrics are illustrated and described in detail it is to be understood that these are considered as illustrative only, since many variations may be made without departing from the principles of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The method of making a fabric having runproof stitches which comprises spreading a needle-engaged loop of a determined course by lateral movement of a lace point extending into said loop, forming a twisted bight in said loop projection, and engaging said bight with a needle holding 'an adjacent loop in said course to be interlocked with said adjacent loop by the corresponding loop of the following course.

2. The method of making a run proof fabric which comprises spreading certain loops of determined courses o'ver a plurality of adjacent loops alternately in succeeding courses and forming one bight in each spread loop for interlocking it with one adjacent loop and a second bight for interlocking it with a following adjacent loop.

3., The method of making a-run-proof fabric which comprises spreading alternate loops in predetermined courses over a pair of adjacent loops, skipping the intermediate loops; and forming one bight in each spread loop for interlocking it with the intermediate loop and a second closed bight l interlocked with the succeeding spread loop.

`pair being spread in the opposite direction to pro- 4. A knitted fabric having non-run stitches, certain of the latter in n'determined courses extending laterally and being formed with spread loops having rolled or twisted bights at their ends interlocked with loops in adjacent wales.

5. A non-run fabric having a plurality of contiguous interlocking courses each comprising a plurality of pairs of loops, one loop of each pair in adetermined course being spread in one direction to provide a bight interlockedwith the other loop of said pair, and a loop of a following interlocking course in line with said other loop of each each pair in a determined course being spread in one direction and. interlocked with the other loop ofvsaid pair, and a loop in a following interlocking course in line with said other loop of each pair being spread in the opposite direction and interlocked with the adjacent loop corresponding to said one loop of each pair.-

7. A non-run fabric having a plurality of in terlocking courses each comprising a plurality of spread loops having laterally displaced twisted bights interlocked with loops not contiguous thereto coursewise of the fabric. j

8. A knitted fabric comprising needle loops some of which are twisted and inverted and form yarn holding loops in atleast two needle wales and in the same course. n

9. A method of knitting with a plurality of spring bearded needles which comprises forming a course of loops, spreading certain of said loops laterally` 'to lie beneath the beards -of adjacent needles, retaining the loops upon the needles on which they were formed while drawing the said adjacent -needles down vwith the beards open, whereby the beards of said adjacent needles enter said loops, and causing said loops to be knocked closed twisted bight in each of said spread loops for interlocking it with said adjacent loop.

` 11. The .method of knitting inA a run-proof fabric comprising' forming successive courses, spreading determined loops of a course each over the next adjacent loop, and simultaneously forming a twisted bight in each spread loop whereby to interlock the same with the .adjacent loop associated therewith.

12. The method of knitting in a run-proof fabric which comprises. forming successive courses, spreading selected loops each from one Wale into an adjacent Wale simultaneously with the knitting of a course,l and rolling said spread loops during the spreading operation to produce a twist in said spread loops.

13. A knitted fabric comprising loops some of,

which form closed loops in their own wales and are spread laterally, twisted, and knit into wales other than those in which they were formed.

14. A knitted fabric comprising loops some of which haveyarn receiving loop portions and portions twisted upside-down andknit into wales adjacent to their own, said portions retaining at least three sinker loops in the same course of the fabric.

15. A knitted fabric comprising loops arranged in wales and courses, some of which loops have yarn receiving loop portions and portions twisted upside-down and knit into adjacent wales, said portions retaining at least three sinker loops in the same course of the fabric, and said twisted loops being formed in all wales at suitable inter- -vals and in staggered relationship in different wales to prevent` runs in the fabric.A

16. A knitted fabric comprising needle and sinker loops, some of which needle loops are twisted and inverted, and knit into at least two wales and hold at least three sinker loops in the same course.

17. A method of knitting a runproof Afabric which comprises forming loops between sinkers and needle shanksLspreading portions of certain of the needle loops in certain of the courses on to the beards of needles carrying other loops and transferring said spread portions from the beards tothe shanks of the needles while retaining these needle loops upon the needles upon which they were formed.

18. A method of knitting a runproof fabric which comprises forming loops around the shanks of a plurality of spring-beard needles, receiving certain of the needleloops upon transfer points, extending such loops on said points in a coursewise direction, lowering the needles to insert the beards of certain of the needles into said extended loops and reversing said loops by transferring them from the beards to the stems of the needles while retaining the said needle loops upon the needles on. which they were formed, and drawing a new formed.

course through the loops thus e 19. Ina method of knitting a run-proof fabric I by forming a course of needle and sinker loops with the latter looped through the sinker loops of the preceding course, the method of forming a lock stitch which comprises inserting a transfer member between a needle and the loop thereon, bringing said member into alignment with an adjacent needle to spread a portion of said loop while the main portion of the loop remains upon its needle, introducing into Athe spread portion of the loop the beard of the needle in alignment therewith, withdrawingthe said member from the said spread portion, transferring the latter from the beard vto the shank of the needle. to superpose said spread portion upon the loop a1- ready on the needle, and forming a succeeding course with a needle loop drawn through the. 

